Mystery Cushion Club 2025: post 1, June

WELCOME TO THE FIRST INSTALMENT OF THE 2025 MYSTERY CUSHION CLUB! I am thrilled to be launching my fifteenth and what will be the final KAL in the Mystery Cushion collection. I started this club a few years after launching the first Mystery Blanket Club, and every design in the following fifteen years has been such an exciting adventure for me to go on. Hopefully if you’ve shared some of those journeys with me, you’ve had a fabulous and inspiring experience through knitting up my Mystery Cushions!

That may lead you to ask whether there is going to be anything to replace the Mystery Cushion Club next year, and the answer to that is yes. But I am going to keep that under wraps until later on this year, so keep your eyes on your inbox…

So here we are, ready to begin a brand new knitting adventure, and although most of us knit on our own, it is important to remember that you are part of a global knitting club, with members signed up from across the world, including Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, Malaysia, Belgium, Austria, Spain, France, Poland, Ireland and the UK.

For those of you who are new to my Mystery Clubs, it’s advisable to make this your first port of call at the beginning of each new instalment. So going forward from today, on the 15^th of each month from July to October, if you can set aside half an hour to read my blog and watch the vids, you will be prepped and ready to knit your Mystery Cushion with complete confidence!

In my dedicated blog for the Mystery Cushion, each month I will give you tips and advice about the blocks you are knitting, plus there are tech vids to assist you with some of the techniques such as cables, intarsia and beads. Some of the tech vids have been created specifically for this project and show how to knit rows within the patterns. And some of them are generic and demo the techniques on a sample swatch.

This month you have three blocks to knit which include, beads, slip-stitch patterns and fairisle. So there’s plenty to keep you busy while you knit your way through the rest of June.

So, let’s make a start, beginning with my intro vid and links to six tech vids which you will find in our Tutorials on this website (click the button at the top of the Homepage):

• How to thread beads onto yarn (Tutorials: Beading Techniques)
• Slip-stitch beading (Tutorials: Beading Techniques)
• Hooked-in beads (Tutorials: Beading Techniques)
• How to knit fairisle (Tutorials: Colour Knitting Techniques)
• How to carry yarns up the side of the work (Tutorials: Knitting Basics)
• Swiss-darning (Tutorials: Embroidery on Knitting)

Mystery Cushion Club 2025 - June Intro | MCC2025

WE STARTED POSTING THE KNITTING KITS IN MAY, WITH THE LAST FEW UK PARCELS POSTED THIS WEEK. So hopefully you are sitting there with your parcel, ready to get going. We have a tracking number for each overseas parcel, and we can give that to you upon request. Just email me at debbie@debbieabrahams.com and I will email it to you. UK parcels were posted by Standard Royal Mail for which there is no tracking information. If you have not received your parcel yet and have any concerns, then please get in touch with me straight away and I will let you know on which date it was posted.

When you receive your kit, please check the contents against the list on page 2 of your June mail out. And if anything is missing, let us know straight away and we will send you what you need. The items in your kit are also listed in your Welcome Letter, a copy of which is in your kit, and we also emailed it to you. We take a great amount of care in packing the parcels, but unfortunately sometimes things are omitted in error. So please email me at debbie@debbieabrahams.com if you have any queries about the contents of your kit.

For those of you who are patterns-only with no knitting kit, you can choose to buy the yarn yourself, and/or use what you have in your stash. And if you decide to go off-piste and create your own colour palette, I would love to see what you do, so please write into me with pics and some words and I will share it with the other members in the blog. It is always great to see what you are doing!

FOR THE MEMBERS WHO PAID FOR PRINTED PATTERNS, the first instalment (Mail Out 1) is included with your knitting kit. However, for the remaining four months they will be posted in a separate card-backed envelope. We aim to have them delivered to you by the middle of the month, and we will do our best to get them to you on or before then. But please bear with us if they are a little late as we are always at the mercy of local postal services and how efficient they are. Overseas patterns are posted by standard Airmail so unfortunately there is no tracking number for them. UK patterns are posted by Standard Royal Mail.

YOU SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED AN EMAIL FROM US ON THE 14^TH JUNE NOTIFYING YOU THAT THE MYSTERY CUSHION PATTERNS ARE AVAILABLE TO DOWNLOAD FROM YOUR ONLINE ACCOUNT.

These are the steps that everyone needs to follow in order to access the new patterns each month:

• Log into your Debbie Abrahams account on our website with your username and password.
• Click the "DIGITAL DOWNLOADS" buttons to view your mail outs.
• Your latest available mail-outs will be visible here in PDF format to download

If you are having a problem with logging into your account, please contact Jason on our tech team and he will be able to assist you: support@debbieabrahams.com

From July - October (the remaining four instalments), the patterns will be emailed to everyone on the 15^th of the month, and on that date they will be available to download from your online account.

PLEASE LET US KNOW IF YOU DON’T RECEIVE OUR EMAILS – it might be because we have made an error with your email address in our database, which we can correct immediately. But sometimes our emails go into a spam folder instead of the inbox, so please make sure that you check this before contacting us.

These are some trouble-shooting steps that you can take to make sure that you are set up correctly to receive our Mailchimp newsletters:

·       add our “From” email address to your email contact list or address book

·       check any spam filter settings to be sure that your content isn't being flagged

·       find the email in your spam folder (if this is the case), and mark it as “Not Spam” or “Not Junk”. This will help register that our content is safe for receiving into your inbox

If you do not receive the June patterns from us then please try some or all of these checks. And if you need further help then please contact Sue at: sue@debbieabrahams.com and we will investigate further.

IT’S ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA TO HAVE A THOROUGH READ OF EACH MAIL OUT BEFORE YOU START KNITTING. Then you can be sure that you are fully prepped and ready for what you are going to knit each month. On page 3 there is some handy information about tension, construction, the finished size of the cushion-cover and blocking and pressing. More information about how to knit a tension square and how to block and press is included in this blog, but the information on this page in the mail out will give you an overall idea of how it all works.

IN EACH INSTALMENT ON PAGE 4 YOU ARE GIVEN A PIECING DIAGRAM WHICH SHOWS YOU WHICH SQUARES YOU ARE KNITTING and where they are positioned in the design. The Front Panel of the cushion-cover is constructed from nine different shaped blocks which are going to be worked in three separate horizontal sections and then pieced together. The Back Panel is knitted in two halves – an Upper Back Panel and a Lower Back Panel. As we progress through each month, images will be added to the diagrams which will enable you to see how the design is developing. The finished measurements of each block will be given within its pattern instructions.

THERE IS A TIPS AND TECHNIQUES SECTION IN YOUR MAIL-OUT, it is at the back of the June mail out on pages 12-13 and includes important information about the fairisle technique, knitting with beads and embroidery on knitted fabric.

On page 14 there is an Abbreviations list which gives you an explanation of all the abbreviations that are used in the patterns. Keep an eye on this list each month as it will be updated when there is a new abbreviation in the patterns.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE COLOURS IN THE MAIL-OUTS MIGHT NOT BE COMPLETELY ACCURATE TO THE COLOUR OF THE ACTUAL YARNS – both in the printed paperwork and in the digital files. We have done our very best to make sure that the colours are as accurate as possible, however some discrepancies might occur in the images and on the charts. Therefore, it is always best to read the name and shade number of the colours rather than going by the photographs of the knitting.

LOOK OUT FOR THE LITTLE COLOURED ENVELOPE IN YOUR KIT! – for non Early Birds this has been packed with your beads, buttons and colour coder which are in a separate small cellophane bag. The envelope has your woven label inside it, and the label has the name of the Mystery Cushion on it, so if you don’t want to spoil the surprise it would be best to put this in a safe place until you have guessed the theme.

For the Early Birds, your coloured envelope with the woven label inside it has been taped to the outside of the plastic bag which has your tote bag in it. The tote bag has the name of the 2025 Mystery Cushion on it, so we’ve covered that up with the envelope. However, if you take your tote bag out of the plastic bag you will see the title of the Mystery Cushion, so it’s up to you whether you do this or not – if you’re anything like me, your will power won’t last five minutes and that tote bag will be out and in use!

YOU HAVE A COLOUR CODER IN YOUR PARCEL, and it is important that you use it to identify the colours in the cushion. The shade numbers on the ball–bands correspond to those stated in the patterns, beside which I have written the name for each colour. If you do not use the correct colour for the correct square then you may run out of some of the yarns, so please take some time to set up your colour coder to avoid getting the colours mixed up. Tie a small amount of each yarn onto the colour coder and also write the name of each yarn and its shade number beside it. And then remember to keep your colour coder near to you at all times when you are knitting so that you can make sure you have picked up the correct colours to work with.

There is one half ball in your kit which has no ball-band. It is a vibrant magenta pink called Euphoria which is shade 043, so you will need to include that on your Colour coder as well and label it up accordingly.

THE PACK OF SIX BUTTONS ARE FOR YOUR BACK PANEL FASTENINGS – so be sure to keep them in  a safe place until they are needed at the end of the project.

IT IS ADVISABLE NOT TO PURCHASE YOUR CUSHION INSERT UNTIL YOU HAVE COMPLETED KNITTING THE CUSHION COVER as the finished size of it will depend on your own tension. If your tension differs from what I achieved, then it will result in the cushion-cover knitting up slightly bigger or smaller than the size I have quoted in the pattern instructions. The recommended size is 45cm x 35cm.

WE DO OUR VERY BEST TO KEEP ERRORS IN THE PATTERN INSTRUCTIONS TO AN ABSOLUTE MINIMUM, but unfortunately they do occur sometimes despite a thorough test knit and several checks before the patterns are signed off. Any corrections that are found after the patterns are released are listed in the Addendums on our website, so it is advisable to check this before you start to knit each block, and that way you will be aware of anything before you make a start. If you scroll down to the bottom of the Homepage, you will see a button that takes you to the Addendums.

BEING PART OF A MYSTERY CLUB MEANS THAT YOU ARE PART OF A VERY FRIENDLY AND VERY HELPFUL KNITTING COMMUNITY, so you shouldn’t ever feel that you are on your own. There are several social media platforms that you can join for free to keep up with all the latest news and chat, as well as sharing advice and ideas, and resolving any queries you might have about the Mystery Cushion with other members:

Ravelry: Debbie Abrahams Handknits

Facebook: Debbie Abrahams Mystery Knitters

Facebook: Debbie Abrahams Handknits (our own FB page)

And if you have a specific query that you need to ask us about, please send your correspondence to me at debbie@debbieabrahams.com and I will get straight back to you as soon as I can.

I have an Instagram and a Pinterest page too. So, if you want to keep an eye on all the latest news about the Club and Debbie Abrahams Handknits, please follow us on our social media platfoms. It’s a great way to keep up with what is happening!

Instagram: debbieabrahams_knitting

Pinterest: debbieabrahams@debbieabrahamsk

IF YOU LIVE ANYWHERE IN OR CLOSE TO NOTTINGHAM THEN YOU ARE WELCOME TO JOIN ME AT YARN LOFT IN CARRINGTON FOR A ‘MYSTERY’ MEETING. Doreen who owns the shop hosts the meeting on the first Wednesday of each month, and for a couple of hours we sit, chat and eat cake while we knit our mystery projects. Members from all my Mystery clubs are welcome – both past and present projects. So if you are able to attend, it would be great to see you!

Our next meeting is on Wednesday 2^nd July between 4-6pm at Yarn Loft, 118 Hucknall Road, Carrington, Nottingham, tel number 07825 702433, website: www.yarnloft.co.uk. To cover the costs of hosting the meeting there is a small sub to pay (£3.00), which can be paid to Doreen on the day.

Just send a quick email to me at debbie@debbieabrahams.com to let me know you are coming, and we will make sure that we have a hot drink and a cake ready for you!

KNITTING A TENSION SWATCH BEFORE YOU BEGIN KNITTING YOUR MYSTERY CUSHION IS VERY IMPORTANT, so before you get going on the first block, this is something that you really should do.

The tension for this project is 24 stitches and 34 rows to 10cm (4in) measured over stocking stitch using 3.50mm needles and using Rowan Felted Tweed.

Any discrepancies in your tension could lead to shortages of yarn, especially if you knit looser than the given tension. So please take time to do this. Here are some tips about measuring tension:

·       the tension swatch should be longer and wider than the stated tension, so it is advisable to cast on a minimum of 35 stitches and work a minimum of 46 rows

·       block and press your tension swatch so that the stitches are fully relaxed

·       use a solid ruler rather than a tape measure to measure your stitches and rows

·       start and finish counting the stitches and rows in from the edges of the knitting and not from edge to edge

·       if your tension is too loose you will need to resample using a smaller metric size needle

·       if you tension is too tight you will need to resample using a larger metric size needle

·       if you need to change your needle size then you will need to change all of the other needles used in the project as well by the same number of sizes

·       stitch tension is more important than row tension, so if you are unable to match both to the recommended tension, choose the needle size that gives you the closest match.

Keep your tension swatch to one side, just in case you need to reference it while you are knitting.

BLOCKING AND PRESSING YOUR KNITTING IS ALSO VERY IMPORTANT, and if you want a professional look to your cushion-cover, this will go a long way to help achieve it. It is essential that your blocks are knitted to the correct sizes so that when they are joined together, the front and back panels fit together perfectly. There is a bit of room for tolerance here though, and this is where blocking and pressing can help.

There are several different stitch patterns used in the project which may differ in tension to your stocking stitch swatch, and therefore may require a bit of easing in or easing out to get them to the right size. However, if you have tested your tension and it is correct, this should not be a problem.

Blocking is the pinning out of your knitting, and in the Pattern notes and tips section on the first page of each block, I have advised whether to pin them out with the right side or wrong side facing upwards – so be sure to read this and take note. Pin frequently along each edge, keeping all four edges as flat and even as possible. There is no need to use heat to press your squares. Much more preferable – and much safer too! – is cold water. So, if you have one available, fill up a plant spray bottle and use this to generously wet down the knitting, making sure that the water is dispersed right across the knitting from edge to edge. And then simply leave it to dry completely before removing the pins.

Pressing is the process of applying either heat or water to your knitting which relaxes the stitches and softens the fibres, resulting in a much more fluid and softer feeling fabric.

Blocking and pressing also helps the edges of the knitting stay flat rather than curling over, as is the tendency with most stitch structures.

I would suggest that you block and press your front panel blocks after you have knitted each one. I think it’s far easier to do this as you go along rather than leaving them all to the end. It also ensures that as you work through them, they are all knitting up to the correct measurements.

THERE ARE THREE BLOCKS TO KNIT IN THE FIRST INSTALMENT, and here are some useful tips which are worth a read before you begin…

FRONT PANEL, Block 1: Criss-cross 1 – hooked-in beads on stocking stitch with a garter stitch contrast-coloured edging:

FRONT PANEL, Block 2: Effervescent – garter stitch and slip-stitch stripes with hooked-in and slip-stitch beads:

FRONT PANEL, Block 6: Zig-zag – fairisle pattern with Swiss-darning:

On each pattern page there is a list of Pattern notes and tips that are worth reading before you start to knit each block. These bits of advice will help you and give pre-warnings as to what to look out for in the pattern instructions. Also take note of the description under the title of each square as this tells you what the stitch structure is.

You can use the tech vids to assist you, but here are a few extra tips for each block:

BLOCK 1, CRISS-CROSS 1: vibrant Tangerine beads are hooked-in to create an all-over criss-cross pattern, with Green and Lipstick beads adding extra colour to the beading.

Videos to watch for assistance with this block:

• Hooked-in beads (Tutorials: Beading Techniques)

If you’ve hooked in beads before then this is a nice easy start to the project, with beads hooked-in on every row after the contrast-coloured edging has been knitted at the bottom of the block. But if you have not hooked in beads before, then this is a great opportunity to give it a go in a small 10cm x 10cm square – perfect! There it a tech vid in Tutorials which shows you exactly how you hook in beads, so make sure you take a look at it if you are new to this technique.

You are working from a chart for this block, which you will find on page 7 of your June mail-out. The Lipstick and Tangerine beads might be a bit difficult to see, so check the chart very carefully before you start and make sure that you use them in the correct places. Basically, the Lipstick beads are in the centre of each cross-over of Tangerine beads, and the Green beads are in the centre of the beaded diamonds.

There’s not much more to say about this block, apart from I hope that you enjoy it – even if the beading seems to be taking forever (it is quite labour intensive), the result will be very rewarding!

BLOCK 2, EFFERVESCENT: the next block to knit this month is a beaded striped long narrow panel which sits next to Block 1.

Videos to watch for assistance with this block:

• How to thread beads onto yarn (Tutorials: Beading Techniques)
• Slip-stitch beading (Tutorials: Beading Techniques)
• Hooked-in beads (Tutorials: Beading Techniques)
• How to carry yarns up the side of the work (Tutorials: Knitting Basics)

This block combines hooked-in beads with slip-stitch beads, so you get the chance to try both beading techniques in one go. The Tangerine beads are hooked-in and the Lipstick beads are added using the slip-stitch technique, which means they need to be pre-threaded. There are two tech vids for the slip-stitch beading technique, one which shows you how to thread beads onto your yarn, and then a second one that shows the technique of knitting them in – both worth a watch if this is all new to you.

Watch out for the change in needle sizes which happens throughout this block. The changes are needed to maintain a uniform width, and without the changes the rows of garter stitch will sit looser and may look a bit wobbly. So to keep your knitting beautifully neat and looking its best, make sure you change your needles when instructed in the pattern.

There are a lot of colour changes in this square, and multiple colour changes means multiple ends. I took care of some of these as I knitted the panel and wove them into the back of the work using the fairisle technique. But I couldn’t knit them all in so some of the loose ends will be sewn in when the panel is joined to Blocks 1 and 3.

BLOCK 6, ZIG-ZAG: the final block for this month is a fairisle pattern which may look super complicated, but some of the zig-zags are embroidered on which makes the task far easier!

Videos to watch for assistance with this square:

• How to knit fairisle (Tutorials: Colour Knitting Techniques)

·       How to carry yarns up the side of the work (Tutorials: Knitting Basics)

• Swiss-darning (Tutorials: Embroidery On Knitting)

The vibrant turquoise blue (Tropic, one of my favourites in this project!) provides the background colour for this square, with Zinnia and Vaseline Green zig-zags knitted in using the fairisle technique. There is no need to wind off any yarn to knit this square, I would advise that you work straight from the balls of yarn, so there’s little preparation to do before you get going.

As mentioned in my intro and in the Pattern notes and tips on page 10 of your June mail-out, the Sublime, Serenity and Jaune zig-zags are embroidered onto the knitting after it has been completed. So when you look at the chart on page 11, you need to ignore these zig-zags while you are knitting.

There is a tech vid for fairisle which is well worth a watch if you have not tried this technique before, and in the demo I show you how to strand yarns and weave them in. Basically you want to avoid long loops across the back of the work, so when there are more than three stitches in one colour I weave in the unused colour across the back. And when there are three or less stitches in one colour, I strand the unused colour across the back. It really is quite simple once you get to grips with it, so if this is new to you, there is no need to worry. Watch the vid and you will be fine.

To minimise multiple ends, Zinnia and Vaseline Green can be carried up the side of the work. There is a tech vid which shows you a neat way of doing this, so check this out if this is what you plan to do.

One last thing is to mention the change in needle sizes which happen on the rows where you are knitting only with Tropic (no fairisle). Perhaps I am being a little over cautious here, but there will be a change in your tension when you knit these rows as fairisle creates a tighter stitch tension than plain stocking stitch. Therefore you could get irregularities in your knitting if the needle sizes are not swapped over. It might be a tad annoying, but I think it’s worth it if you want to knit the best piece of fairisle you have ever knitted – and I know that’s what you all want to do!

Now you are fully clued up on what you are knitting this month, you can make a start. I hope you enjoy the first set of patterns!

BEFORE I SIGN OFF THIS MONTH’S BLOG, IT’S TIME TO HAVE YOUR FIRST GUESS AT THE TITLE OF THE MYSTERY CUSHION! – that is if you have not already seen it on the label or on the tote bag. Each month I am going to give you a letter which is in the title. Then if you think you know what it is, drop us a line and we will let you know if you are right.

Each year the design is inspired by a Spring/Summer trend, so take a look around you now, see what is in the shops, are there are clues out there? There are also clues in the pattern and the names of the blocks – what do the words ‘criss-cross and ‘zig-zags’ bring to mind? Any ideas?!?

This month the letter I am giving you is ‘I’:
_  _  I  _  _  _  _  _

If you think you know what it is, please email your answer to me at debbie@debbieabrahams.com to see if you are right. And if you are, then with your permission, we will include you in the list of correct guessers in the July blog. And if you are not, then there’ll be more clues next month to help you.

Well now the moment has come to grab your knitting needles and make a start on your 2025 Mystery Cushion. I promised you a bright and very colourful journey this year, so this is exactly what I am sending you on! Immerse yourself in colour, indulge yourself in all things sparkly, and enjoy the adventure. And if along the way you want to share the fun you are having, don’t forget to write in and let me know how you are getting on. Have fun everyone and see you back here in July! Debbie, x